[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 26, Volume 12]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 26CFR1.1502-17]

[Page 315-316]
 
                       TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE
 
    CHAPTER I--INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 
                               (CONTINUED)
 
PART 1_INCOME TAXES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1.1502-17  Methods of accounting.

    (a) General rule. The method of accounting to be used by each member 
of the group shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of 
section 446 as if such member filed a separate return. For treatment of 
depreciable property after a transfer within the group, see paragraph 
(g) of Sec. 1.1502-12.
    (b) Adjustments required if method of accounting changes--(1) 
General rule. If a member of a group changes its method of accounting 
for a consolidated return year, the terms and conditions prescribed by 
the Commissioner under section 446(e), including section 481(a) where 
applicable, shall apply to the member. If the requirements of section 
481(b) are met because applicable adjustments under section 481(a) are 
substantial, the increase in tax for any prior year shall be computed 
upon the basis of a consolidated return or a separate return, whichever 
was filed for such prior year.
    (2) Changes in method of accounting for intercompany transactions. 
If a member changes its method of accounting for intercompany 
transactions for a consolidated return year, the change in method 
generally will be effected on a cut-off basis.
    (c) Anti-avoidance rules--(1) General rule. If one member (B) 
directly or indirectly acquires an activity of another member (S), or 
undertakes S's activity, with the principal purpose to avail the group 
of an accounting method that would be unavailable (or would be 
unavailable without securing consent from the Commissioner) if S and B 
were treated as divisions of a single corporation, B must use the 
accounting method for the acquired or undertaken activity determined 
under paragraph (c)(2) of this section or must secure consent from the 
Commissioner under applicable administrative procedures to use a 
different method.
    (2) Treatment as divisions of a single corporation. B must use the 
method of accounting that would be required if B acquired the activity 
from S in a transaction to which section 381 applied. Thus, the 
principles of section 381 (c)(4) and (c)(5) apply to resolve any 
conflicts between the accounting methods of S and B, and the acquired or 
undertaken activity is treated as having the accounting method used by 
S. Appropriate adjustments are made to treat all acquisitions or 
undertakings that

[[Page 316]]

are part of the same plan or arrangement as a single acquisition or 
undertaking.
    (d) Examples. The provisions of this section are illustrated by the 
following examples:

    Example 1. Separate return treatment generally. X and its wholly-
owned subsidiary Y filed separate returns for their calendar years 
ending December 31, 1965. During calendar year 1965, X employed an 
accrual method of accounting, established a reserve for bad debts, and 
elected under section 171 to amortize bond premiums with respect to its 
fully taxable bonds. During calendar year 1965, Y employed the cash 
receipts and disbursements method, used the specific charge-off method 
with respect to its bad debts, and did not elect to amortize bond 
premiums under section 171 with respect to its bonds. X and Y filed a 
consolidated return for 1966. For 1966 X and Y must continue to compute 
income under their respective methods of accounting (unless a change in 
method under section 446 is made).
    Example 2. Adopting methods. Corporation P is a member of a 
consolidated group. P provides consulting services to customers under 
various agreements. For one type of customer, P's agreements require 
payment only when the contract is completed (payment-on-completion 
contracts). P uses an overall accrual method of accounting. Accordingly, 
P takes its income from consulting contracts into account when earned, 
received, or due, whichever is earlier. With the principal purpose to 
avoid seeking the consent of the Commissioner to change its method of 
accounting for the payment-on-completion contracts to the cash method, P 
forms corporation S, and S begins to render services to those customers 
subject to the payment-on-completion contracts. P continues to render 
services to those customers not subject to these contracts.
    (b) Under paragraph (c) of this section, S must account for the 
consulting income under the payment-on-completion contracts on an 
accrual method rather than adopting the cash method contemplated by P.
    Example 3. Changing inventory sub-method. (a) Corporation P is a 
member of a consolidated group. P operates a manufacturing business that 
uses dollar-value LIFO, and has built up a substantial LIFO reserve. P 
has historically manufactured all its inventory and has used one natural 
business unit pool. P begins purchasing goods identical to its own 
finished goods from a foreign supplier, and is concerned that it must 
establish a separate resale pool under Sec. 1.472-8(c). P anticipates 
that it will begin to purchase, rather than manufacture, a substantial 
portion of its inventory, resulting in a recapture of most of its LIFO 
reserve because of decrements in its manufacturing pool. With the 
principal purpose to avoid the decrements, P forms corporation S in Year 
1. S operates as a distributor to nonmembers, and P sells all of its 
existing inventories to S. S adopts LIFO, and elects dollar-value LIFO 
with one resale pool. Thereafter, P continues to manufacture and 
purchase inventory, and to sell it to S for resale to nonmembers. P's 
intercompany gain from sales to S is taken into account under Sec. 
1.1502-13. S maintains its Year 1 base dollar value of inventory so that 
P will not be required to take its intercompany items (which include the 
effects of the LIFO reserve recapture) into account.
    (b) Under paragraph (c) of this section, S must maintain two pools 
(manufacturing and resale) to the same extent that P would be required 
to maintain those pools under Sec. 1.472-8 if it had not formed S.

    (e) Effective dates. Paragraph (b) of this section applies to 
changes in method of accounting effective for years beginning on or 
after July 12, 1995. For changes in method of accounting effective for 
years beginning before that date, see Sec. 1.1502-17 (as contained in 
the 26 CFR part 1 edition revised as of April 1, 1995). Paragraphs (c) 
and (d) apply with respect to acquisitions occurring or activities 
undertaken in years beginning on or after July 12, 1995.

[T.D. 6894, 31 FR 11794, Sept. 8, 1966, as amended by T.D. 8597, 60 FR 
36708, July 18, 1995]